Bourbon Caramel Rice Crispy Treats with Dark Chocolate (gluten free)

By trf0ster

These rice crispy treats do have bourbon in them, and if you taste the marshmallows, they are pretty boozy. But once you mix them with the rice crispy cereal the bourbon becomes just a faint subtle hint. If you like your booze, feel free to substitute two more tablespoons of bourbon for the cold water used to soften the gelatin. I won’t tell anyone.

Ingredients

• Bourbon Caramel Marshmallows Fluff
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of powdered unflavored gelatin (1 1/2 packages)
• 2 tablespoons of bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
• 2 tablespoons of cold water
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg white from a large egg
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cream of tartar

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine the powdered gelatin, bourbon and cold water in small bowl to soften the gelatin.

2. Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce to medium heat. You will want to use a large saucepan, because it will bubble up. Try NOT to use a nonstick pan, as one with a silver metallic bottom will allow you to better judge the state of the caramel as you cook it.

3. Meanwhile, as the sugar syrup cooks, place the egg white, pinch of salt and pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl with a standing mixer with the wire whisk attached. Whip on medium high until the egg white holds stiff peaks.

4. Go back to the sugar syrup and continue to cook the syrup until it starts to turn a little bit brown. The minute the syrup starts to brown, remove the syrup from the heat and swirl the syrup up around to make sure it evenly cooks. You don’t want to overcook the caramel. Usually I take it off the heat once it starts to brown and caramelize, and swirl it around to let the residual heat of the pan finish cooking it. If it isn’t darkening enough, you can always put back on the heat, but if you overcook, you have to start over. If you have a candy thermometer, you want to take it off the heat once it hits 320˚F, the very beginning of the carmelization of the sugar.

5. Once the sugar syrup is a golden amber color (about 340˚F if you’re using a candy themometer) take it off the heat and add the gelatin. It will bubble up and steam so be careful. Mix with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon until the gelatin has dissolved. Then take it over to the standing mixer.

6. Turn the standing mixer to high and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites as the mixer whips the egg whites. Continue to pour until all the syrup is used up. Leave the standing mixer going for another 10 -12 minutes or to whip air into it and the marshmallow has cooled to room temperature.

Rice Crispy Treat
3 tablespoons salted butter
8 cups (10 oz) of gluten free crispy brown rice cereal (see note)
1 batch of bourbon caramel marshmallows (recipe above)

1. Grease a 9 × 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Pour the bourbon caramel marshmallow fluff into a large pot or dutch oven, along with the butter.

3. Cook on medium heat until the butter has melted and starts to brown a little bit and the marshmallow fluffy has melted. Stir with a heat proof spatula or a wooden spoon until the marshmallow and butter have combined and thinned a little.

4. Add the crispy rice cereal and stir until thoroughly coated with the marshmallow.

5. Press the rice crispy mixture into the prepared pan, using a greased spatula or a piece of wax paper to evenly spread it into the pan.

6. Allow to harden at room temperature, about 20 minutes, and then grease a large chef knife and cut into 2 inch squares.

Assemble the Rice Crispy Treat
12 oz of dark chocolate, divided (preferably something that you like to eat out of hand)
1 oz of white chocolate (don’t use white chocolate chips as they don’t melt very well)
Gold luster dust (optional)

1. Line a baking sheet with a silpat, wax paper or aluminum foil.

2. Chop 10 oz of dark chocolate into small ¼ inch squares. Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate and microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. At this point the bowl should be pretty warm and the chocolate fairly melted. Pull it out of the microwave and stir until the chocolate is completely liquid. If it still needs a little more time, microwave in 15 second intervals until melted.

2. Dip the bottom of one rice crispy treat into the melted chocolate, being sure to coat about a ½ inch up the sides. Place the crispy treat, chocolate side down, on the lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the crispy treat squares.

3. Once the treats are all dipped in chocolate, refrigerate the treats while you make the chocolate hearts.

4. Line another baking sheet with aluminum foil or wax paper.

5. Chop the remaining 2 oz of dark chocolate into small 1/ inch squares and place in the microwave safe bowl. Microwave and stir for 30 second intervals, just as you did in step 2, until all the chocolate is melted. Since there is significantly less chocolate to melt, you probably only need one or two cycles.

6. Pour the chocolate onto the lined baking sheet and, using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread the chocolate as thin as you can.

7. Place a small saucepan fill with a little bit of water on the stove. Fit a metal bowl over the saucepan, and make sure the metal bowl doesn’t touch the water.

8. Chop the white chocolate into ¼ inch small squares. Place them in the metal bowl.

9. Remove the metal bowl and turn on the heat on the stove to bring the water to a boil. Once it is at a rapid boil, turn the heat off, and place the metal boil on top of the saucepan.

10. Stir the white chocolate in the metal bowl. The residual heat from the steam below it should start to melt it. Continue to stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

11. Take a sandwich size ziplock bag and place it in a large mouthed glass drinking or measuring cup. Flip top of the ziplock bag over the rim of the glass. Using a spatula, scrape the white chocolate into the bag. Flip the top of the bag right side up and pull the bag out of the glass. Then zip close the bag.

12. Snip a very small opening on the corner of the bag. In a zig zag pattern, squeeze the white chocolate quickly over the dark chocolate on the baking sheet diagonally. Don’t worry if it gets a little messy. You’ll be cutting out hearts from it, so it doesn’t have to look perfect.

13. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 3 to four minutes. You want to cool the chocolate to the point where it looks matte on top, but isn’t rock hard. If you have cooled the chocolate too long, it will crack. You want it hardened but still soft enough to cut.

14. After the chocolate has had time to cool in the refrigerator, using a small heart shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts into the chocolate sheet. Once done, place it back in the refrigerator for another ten to fifteen minutes to completely harden up.

15. Once the chocolate hearts have hardened, pull the chocolate coated rice crispy treats out of the refrigerator along with the chocolate hearts. Crack out the chocolate hearts and place one on top of each rice crispy treat.

16. Once each rice crispy treat has a heart on top. Take a kitchen torch and lightly melt the chocolate heart on top, to affix it to the treat. This will take a little practice, but you want to keep the torch flame parallel to the chocolate, until the chocolate melts and looks shiny. If you torch it directly, you will burn the chocolate or burn the rice crispy treat (I learned this the hard way). If you don’t have a torch, you can place the rice crispy treats under the broiler for ten seconds or so. Or you can try using a hair dryer set to high to melt the chocolate. Finally, you can also just melt some more chocolate and dab a little bit underneath each heart as “glue” to affix it to the treat.

17. Place the rice crispy treats back in the refrigerator for the chocolate hearts to harden, about 15 minutes or longer. Once they have hardened, dip a q-tip or small brush and brush a side of the heart with gold luster dust if using.

18. Give them to your valentine and bask in his or her love.